Fast to stop global warming

September 4th event marks new phase in struggle for the planet 9

Climate Emergency Fast. Photo: iStockphoto

I'm incredibly excited about the September 4th Climate Emergency Fast being organized by the U.S. Climate Emergency Council and others. I've signed up and hope you will too, by clicking here. In one week, the number of fasters has grown from 395 to 795 and continues to multiply. Everyone I've talked to about it is instantly drawn to it; people seem to instinctively understand that we need to move beyond the polite letter-writing, lobbying, and yes -- blogging -- that has characterized response to the climate crisis thus far.

In most true crises, people take to the streets if the government doesn't act. What's happening to the planet is a crisis of that scale, but thus far hasn't got the dramatic response it merits. Institutional advocacy just won't cut it; as a recent groundbreaking study by Jon Agnone of the University of Washington shows. As Ken Ward summarized in a recent post here:

  1. Protest is significantly more important than public opinion or institutional advocacy in influencing federal environmental law. Agnone found that each protest event increases the likelihood of pro-environmental legislation being passed by 1.2 percent, and moderate protest increases the annual rate of adoption by an astonishing 9.5 percent.
  2. Public opinion on its own influences federal action (though less than protest), but is vastly strengthened by protest, which "amplifies" public support and, in Agnone's words, "raises the salience of public opinion for legislators." Protest and public opinion are synergistic, with a joint impact on federal policy far more dramatic than either factor alone.
  3. Institutional advocacy has limited impact on federal environmental policy.

Coming in the wake of Al Gore's call for civil disobedience against polluters, this fast could be the start of a vital shift in the strategy of the environmental movement -- getting out of the halls of power where it's easy to have demands mollified with half measures and into the streets: the point at which leaders start freaking out and wondering what you'll do next. Of course, it's always important to keep any protests accessible and sympathetic to the average person. It's necessary to do the organizing in advance to ensure that your action has widespread public support and won't provoke a crippling backlash, but I think we're getting to that point in the climate crisis.

Already some climate big shots have signed up: Rev. Jim Wallis, Vandana Shiva, Dennis Brutus, Sally Bingham, Bill McKibben, Rev. Bob Edgar, Van Jones, Mike Tidwell, Billy Parish, Brent Blackwelder, Ilyse Hogue and many more.

So join me and sign up now!

Glenn Hurowitz is the Washington Director of Avoided Deforestation Partners (www.adpartners.org), an organization dedicated to protecting tropical forests as part of the solution to climate change. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Politico, The Los Angeles Times, The American Prospect, and many other publications. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party and has worked in a variety of senior positions in the environmental movement and on political campaigns. All his writing at Grist represents his own opinions and no organization should be held responsible for it!

Related Stories

Advertisement
Advertisement
  1. Delay And Deny's avatar

    Delay And Deny Posted 7:54 am
    30 Aug 2007

    Great Idea

    Now this is the real stuff we should be doing.

    John Bailo


    Sutext:

    Permalink

  2. Biodiversivist's avatar

    Biodiversivist Posted 1:42 am
    31 Aug 2007

    Dead end strategyIn a head to head fast, Rush Limbaugh would just be getting down to a healthy weight by the time the last of us enviros died of starvation.
    On a serious note, I like it.

    In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

    Permalink

  3. Delay And Deny's avatar

    Delay And Deny Posted 2:51 am
    31 Aug 2007

    Bloated LibsRight.
    Like schmoozing up the  brie and cappucinos with the IPCC haven't supersized Big Al
    http://bokertov.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/ ...

    John Bailo


    Sutext:

    Permalink

  4. MarkUK Posted 2:54 am
    31 Aug 2007

    Consumer powerIf people want to make a change maybe consuming less?

    Permalink

  5. kman Posted 12:14 pm
    31 Aug 2007

    ummm....I care for the environment, I really do. I'd also love to see action taken to prevent the potential damage. I also appreciate the efforts of everyone doing this, but honestly, I do not think this is necessary. I've taken to street protests, etc, but i dont know if i'd fast for the climate. As someone above has said, we'd probably starve to death by the time Rush Limbaugh reaches healthy weight.
    Also, even tho we are destroying nature, i dont see why we should go extinct ourselves (i'm sure that's the message that will come out of this). I mean afterall, we are a part of nature, and every living being consumes. The goal should actually be to consume less and sustainably as MarkUK said, rather than consume nothing.

    Permalink

  6. Delay And Deny's avatar

    Delay And Deny Posted 1:07 pm
    31 Aug 2007

    Fast Can Mean More than Food

    We can fast in more ways than not eating food:


    Not making movies
    Not littering the world with CDs
    Not using up energy with spurious spam media (Linsay Lohan take note)
    Not over using PR (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie take note).
    Not flying people around (Richard Branson take not).
    Not driving (GM take note)


    How about shutting down the entire Grid for a whole day?
    How about spending a whole day:
    Walking

    Talking

    Thinking

    Living
    ???



    John Bailo


    Sutext:

    Permalink

  7. KevinMichael Posted 7:53 am
    03 Sep 2007

    This is futile and bad for your health.This is absolutely worthless. These people are much better off making a commitment to simply take their lunches to work/school in reusable containers. If everyone did the obvious...none of these strident protests would be necessary.

    Stay positive, love your life.

    Permalink

  8. ahavemann Posted 5:35 am
    04 Sep 2007

    Fasting Today...I am fasting today and am one of the organizers of the Climate Fast. It is inspiring to see discussion of the fast going on independently of our work here at USCEC.
    The main coordinator of the fast, Ted Glick (whose fast is open-ended and will continue for weeks), is keeping a daily blog of his thoughts as he gets further into his fast. Check it out at www.climateemergency.org/blog.  

    And thanks for all of your comments!

    Permalink

  9. amc89 Posted 5:42 am
    04 Sep 2007

    better ideaNo need to fast. Just give up meat. A 2005 study -http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutriEI.pd ... - by University of Chicago researchers found that eating vegetarian fare is more effective in reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions than replacing a gas-guzzler with a hybrid car.  

    Permalink

Add a Comment

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Hello, Visitor!    Why not register?

Viewed
More
Commented
More
Advertisement